[Footnote 72: The reader will be plentifully supplied with information respecting this noted place, and the settlement of British convicts made at Port Jackson, in another part of this work. It would be very injudicious to break down the matter intended to be given there, for the purpose of ekeing out the limited remarks here made. This intimation may be equally applied to the whole subject of New Holland: about which the reader may promise himself very ample satisfaction in the course of this collection. Let this then be accepted as a pledge in apology for the paucity of observations on the text.--E.]
During my stay in this harbour, I caused the English colours to be displayed on shore every day, and the ship's name, and the date of the year, to be inscribed upon one of the trees near the watering-place.
It is high water here at the full and change of the moon about eight o'clock, and the tide rises and falls perpendicularly between four and five feet.
_The Range from Botany Bay to Trinity Bay; with a farther Account of the Country, its Inhabitants; and Productions_.
At day-break, on Sunday the 6th of May 1770, we set sail from Botany Bay, with a light breeze at N.W. which soon after coming to the southward, we steered along the shore N.N.E.; and at noon, our latitude, by observation, was 33° 50' S. At this time we were between two and three miles distant from the land, and a-breast of a bay, or harbour, in which there appeared to be good anchorage, and which I called _Port Jackson_. This harbour lies three leagues to the northward of Botany Bay: The variation, by several azimuths, appeared to be 8° E. At sun-set, the northermost land in sight bore N. 26 E. and some broken land, that seemed to form a bay, bore N. 40 W. distant four leagues. This bay, which lies in latitude 33° 42' I called _Broken Bay_. We steered along the shore N.N.E. all night, at the distance of about three leagues from the land, having from thirty-two to thirty-six fathom water, with a hard sandy bottom.
Soon after sun-rise on the 7th, I took several azimuths, with four needles belonging to the azimuth compass, the mean result of which gave the variation 7° 56' E. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 33° 22' S.: We were about three leagues from the shore; the northermost land in sight bore N. 19 E. and some lands which projected in three bluff points, and which, for that reason; I called _Cape Three Points_, bore S.W. distant five leagues. Our longitude from Botany Bay was 19' E. In the afternoon, we saw smoke in several places upon the shore, and in the evening, found the variation to be 8° 25' E. At this time we were between two and three miles from the shore, in twenty-eight fathom; and at noon the next day, we had not advanced one step to the northward. We stood off shore, with the winds northerly, till twelve at night, and at the distance of about five leagues, had seventy fathom; at the distance of six leagues we had eighty fathom, which is the extent of the soundings; for at the distance of ten leagues, we had no ground with 150 fathom.